It is the policy of Suffolk University that appropriate internal controls and accepted best practices be utilized in the processing of payments. This includes check requests, ACH requests, and wire transfer requests.

Requests for payments via wire and ACH fall under the guidelines of the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Policy. The purpose of this policy is to provide guidelines and establish procedures for processing domestic and international electronic funds transfer (EFT) requests. For the most part, this new policy is mirroring our existing process.

One change, however, is the requirement of a completed Wire Transfer Request Form when requesting a wire transfer as a form of payment to a vendor or to process a student refund. The Wire Transfer Request Form should be completed and signed by the Requestor and Approver in accordance with Section 3.0 of the Payment and Procurement Authorization Policy. If the wire amount requested is for $15,000 or greater, then the Wire Transfer Request Form must have additional approvals in accordance with Section 5.0 of the Payment and Procurement Authorization Policy. For example, a wire payment of $20,000 must have the signature of the requestor and a Department Head, but must also have a manual signature from one of the following: the Senior Vice President of Finance & Administration, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs & Provost or the President of the University.

Domestic payments are typically processed via paper check. A domestic wire transfer of funds or ACH will only be utilized in payment of an obligation of the University when the situation requires more immediate funding or circumstances where a paper check or ACH is not an acceptable form of payment.

A wire transfer is the typical form of payment of an international obligation.